Reuben Izu, the father of slain player with the Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC), Joseph Izu, and some residents of the area have revealed that he was shot at a close range.

Joseph’s father said he had gone to their hometown in Okaki to check on his wife before he met his untimely death.


"He was in Okaki with his wife before he died. He had planned to come to Port Harcourt where I live with his daughter. He went to the jetty area where we usually swim to have a quick shower on Sunday. It was while he was there that the men of the JTF raided the place and everybody ran helter-skelter, including Joseph.

"When the soldiers saw them running they began shooting sporadically and one of the bullets hit Joseph in the leg. As he was groaning with pain, one of the JTF men walked up to him and shot him a second time at a close range despite Joseph’s plea that he was a footballer on holiday in Okaki.

"His mobile phone and identity card were seized from him and we have not been able to retrieve them till now. The soldiers didn’t allow anybody to help him until he lost a lot of blood. After they left, he was taken to the hospital where he died due to loss of blood."

Reuben added that the matter had been reported to the police.

One of the residents told The Punch, "The boy (Joseph) was at the jetty when security personnel in the area accosted him and shot him. They (joint task force team) were in search of a suspect when this happened. Joseph told them that he was a footballer, but his appeal fell on deaf ears as he was shot. He was later rushed to a hospital where he died."